Two years later and Covid is detected in MIQ.
The government especially those frontline and health officials who deal directly with the passengers ought to be congratulated for keeping Covid away for two years since the start of the pandemic.
After yesterday’s first Covid case on the island, Niue will no longer be on the shortlist of eight countries in the world free of Covid, leaving the five Pacific nations Tuvalu, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Tokelau, and Pitcairn with Turkmenistan, and North Korea as the seven countries free of Covid 19. However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) hadn’t yet updated its Covid 19 Dashboard this afternoon, it still had Niue as having zero cases.
The positive case was one of the twenty-six passengers on the flight from Auckland on Monday 7th tested positive for Covid on their day one tests. According to the Director-General of Health Gaylene Tasmania, “The case in MIQ remain asymptomatic and is generally well”.
Last night Premier Dalton Tagelagi in a national broadcast informed the island that Covid was detected with one of the passengers in MIQ and called for calm and for the people to maintain good hygiene.
“As we all know, the best defence against this virus is by keeping calm, working together, and making use of all the health and safety precautions that we know make a real difference in protecting us all from Covid-19.
Our National COVID Response will remain on Alert Level BLUE, because we have the ability to contain the virus in quarantine.”
Niue is one of the few countries to have nearly 100 percent of the eligible population double vaxxed those aged 12 years and older.
Ninety-five percent of children aged 5 to 11 have received their first dose of the Pfizer paediatric vaccine and are waiting for their second jab in a few weeks.
Director-General Gaylene Tasmania told BCN news that the message remains to contain the virus and eliminate it in MIQ.
“Our goal is to contain the virus and eliminate it in MIQ, that has always been the plan ever since and we will stay on course,” said Mrs Tasmania.
Government officials are holding meetings today as some of their key frontline staff are now in isolation after coming in contact with the positive case.
